CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Here she was, in Wes’s arms again. No place she’d rather be.

Yet, she was playing a dangerous game of poker with her emotions. Could she leave him again?

Their bodies were touching, his heat seeped through her clothing into her skin, warming her with a desire that triggered a need that ran deep into her core.

“You looking at me like that turns me inside out.” His husky voice sent tremors through her body.

“Like what?” She smiled.

His fingers smoothed down her cheek, the length of her neck, pausing at her chest, barely touching her. Her blood boiled like lava and her nipples tingled. Her core throbbed and soaked her panties.

“Like you did when I kissed you for the very first time. I was forever hooked. You make me feel alive, like I’m a carefree man again. My needs are clear when I’m with you.” His hot breath skimmed across her cheek. He scooted closer, the bulge behind his zipper rubbed her thighs. A groan passed her lips and his jaw tightened. Every muscle in her body followed and constricted. Nothing existed but the two of them.

He bent his head, nuzzling his nose in her hair, his raspy jaw rasping her skin. “How is it possible that you do this to me? I’ve never been so weak.” He kissed her neck, her ear lobe and her cheek.

Sammie shivered and moaned louder. He did something amazing to her too—something indescribable. Impulsive behavior had never been her MO, but right here and right now, she was willing to jump into a dark abyss not knowing how deep it was or if she would come out alive. She could sink or swim, but she trusted that he’d save her—he was her lifeline. She’d known from the very beginning that being near him wouldn’t be safe for her. She should run like hell, forget the test, but she was nailed to the counter by an invisible erotic passion.

His hand glided slightly lower, ever so slowly to stop at her breasts, his thumb grazed her nipple, bringing that part of her tight. He ignited a new round of shudders slipping through her, scattering goosebumps across her skin.

One corner of his mouth danced with a smile and his blue eyes turned a shade darker. “I remember how your body responded to my touch. How you smelled and tasted.” He closed his eyes for a mere second as if the thought was too much to handle. “A man doesn’t forget that aphrodisiac. Nights I’ve stayed awake, remembering. Wanting. Trying not to imagine another man touching, kissing you, suckling your sweet nectar.” His warm breath brushed over her skin.

She hadn’t been kissed in a long time, not even by Brady, and she was a bit rusty, but when his mouth came down on hers, gentle and coaxing, she opened to him. At first things were slow, explorative, but the temperature grew hotter and he grew hungrier. His tongue slid between her lips, suckling and sampling as if he was acting upon caged emotions and fostered frustration. Lust traveled between them like an electrical current, turning her body into a liquid mass of desire.

He pressed his body against hers and her head hit the cabinet, but she paid no attention as she clutched his shirt into tight fists, pulling him close as the kiss continued, so nice it curled her bare toes. Slipping one arm around his neck, she pressed her tingly breasts against the hard wall of his chest, all the blood rushing from her head and pooling between her throbbing thighs. Losing all logic, she became prisoner to his touch, jumping the hurdles in her mind.

Wes’s fingers dropped to her thighs, digging into the skin and muscle as he devoured her mouth, suckling her tongue like she wanted him to do to her nipples. Years had passed, time had moved on, but her mind hadn’t moved forward. She felt like it was only yesterday when they held each other tightly, making love under the stars and the moon, making promises of a future.

“You walk, talk and taste like trouble,” he growled.

“So, you do like me a little then.” She chuckled.

He laughed. “More than a little, sweetheart.”

Sammie whimpered and wrapped one leg around his ass and slid to the very edge of the counter, her core against his hard zipper. The metal of the buckle pressed her sensitive body. He pushed his erection deeper into her cotton covered slit and the material became soft fingers, tickling her moist clit. A moan escaped her. She could hear her heart pounding steadfastly, or was that his heartbeat? She could no longer decipher where his body ended and hers began. They were molding into one.

He dragged his mouth from hers to leave kisses on her cheek, her neck, darting his tongue out to lick a heated path to her collarbone. Her head leaned to one shoulder and she succumbed to this joyous exotic touch that was a magical wand. His head came back up to nibble her ear lobe, gliding his tongue along the flesh, and he groaned. “I don’t think I could ever get enough.”

“Try. And keep trying.”

“Do you want me, baby?” he whispered against her skin.

“Yes! I want you. I want this.”

Wes took a slight step back, but kept his hands clutching the counter beside her hips. “I think I proved my point.”

Exasperated, it took her three seconds to regain her composure. “What? This isn’t funny.”

“I didn’t say it was. I said I proved my point. I think we both got it loud and clear.” He lifted a brow and took a step backward, holding her gaze.

Her body shook as the adrenaline slowed. Her body screamed for his touch. “Was that your plan? To get me all hot and bothered only to drop me like a hot rock?” One thin brow lifted.

“I told you what I wanted. Now deny the truth, darlin’. Tell me you can resist this draw between us and I’ll leave you alone. God help me, I’ll walk away.”

Her lips trembled. Her throat was on fire. She jumped down from the counter and placed her palms on her hips. “We’re not finished here, Wes.”

“Never have been.” His husky voice grated her inner thighs.

“You’re real smug, aren’t you? Well, don’t blame me. Sometimes you get what you ask for.” She took a footstep forward, clutched the front of his shirt in her fists and turned him around so that he was between her and the counter. She slammed her mouth against his and grabbed his bulging crotch. Sammie swallowed his deep moan, rubbing his hard body.

This could all lead to trouble, but she didn’t care. What she did know was the image of him standing in her kitchen, naked, with her leaning over the table, made the air swish out of her lungs like a vacuum had sucked all the oxygen from her. Baggage and all. Even the scars that bound themselves to her veins were healing. She ran her hands down his broad, iron hard shoulders, his muscled abs, continuing to caress his crotch. Following the stiff contour behind his zipper, she found the tip of his head and rolled her finger around the plump flesh.

She pulled back, gasping for breaths. “There are some rules.”

“Don’t you think we’ve passed all stop signs and we’re on the long stretch?”

“Oh, we’re just beginning. You’ve proven that I want you. Oh, hell do I want you. But this doesn’t mean I’m staying in Colton. Got it?”

He chuckled. “Just as you said, we’re only just beginning.” A victorious smile creased his lips.

“We’re too old to throw caution to the wind. Keep a stock pile of condoms and I’m on the pill. Safety and precaution first.”

“Check.” He started to lower his head for a kiss and she pressed her finger against his lips.

“Not so fast. This won’t happen here, not when my father can walk in any second. I don’t want to give him a heart attack.”

“Yeah, I don’t want the bite of Shantie. My house then?”

“What about Brie? We can’t let her know because all kids at that age think playing house consists of mom and dad. We’re not playing house. We’re just playing.”

He nodded. “She has a birthday party she’s going to later this evening. Meet me at Second Chances at six?”

“Why does it feel like my heart is beating out of my chest?”

“If it wasn’t, then it wouldn’t be right, darlin’.” He took her hand that looked so small in his and placed it against his chest, right over his heart. “Do you feel mine?” His warmth spread over her palm and his heart beat wildly. There was something both exciting and intriguing in knowing they were both nervous. A rough and tough cowboy like Wes wasn’t supposed to be anything but cool and in control, but he was caught up in the crazy emotions too.

Their gazes met and she nibbled her bottom lip. “Are we really going to do this again? I’ve never had sex with you in a bed, a real bed and not a pick up.”

“A real bed, baby.”

Her womb throbbed. Sweat beaded between her breasts. “For heaven’s sake. Can I wait until this evening?”

 

*****

Weston drove like a race car driver on the winding road that took him back to the ranch. He glanced at the dashboard clock. Five fifty. Since he’d left Tanner earlier he’d been a bundle of nerves anticipating this evening. So, when he pulled up in front of his farmhouse and he saw Lucas’s truck parked in front, he instantly hardened.

He almost broke the door off the hinges as he tore out of the driver’s side and made a fast race up the porch, through the screen door and stopped. Where was she?

Hearing soft music playing from upstairs, he barreled up the stairs, taking two at a time, and down the hallway, stopping at the threshold into his bedroom. The closed blinds and curtains left the room dark, but he inhaled deeply and could smell Sammie’s erotic scent seconds before he heard a click. She was lighting a candle on the dresser. The golden light came alive and illuminated her body. He sucked in a deep breath, but couldn’t quite fill his lungs. She wore a long blue and white striped dress that flowed over her lush shape. His chest tightened and his heart tripled in beats. His pulse became a storm.

“I wasn’t sure you’d really come.” His words sounded alien to his ears. Even he detected the vulnerability in his voice.

When she finished with the last candle, she set the lighter down and strolled toward him, the hem of the dress swishing around her ankles. His muscles throbbed and his dick was so hard he thought he’d implode.

Although her outfit didn’t show much cleavage, it provoked a turmoil of need within him as his mind conjured images of her underneath her clothes.

He held her gaze as she approached, her baby blues turning him inside out. His chest puffed with a pride knowing soon he would have her naked and in his arms again. What had he done in life to make him so deserving of her? He wanted to reach out and drag her close, start on what certainly would be an amazing act of passion, but he held his arms at his sides. Refusing to shoot too quickly. They had two hours to explore one another, take things slow and enjoy the ride.

“I couldn’t have stayed away if my life depended upon it,” she admitted.

He released a ragged breath. “The candles. The music. You. It’s all incredible and romantic.”

“I thought we deserved to feel like adults.” Her gentle laugh tugged at his chest. “Although, I sort of feel like we are those crazy young adults again. How much time do we have?”

“Harley is bringing Brie home on her way from work at eight.”

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his. “Do you have the condoms?”

“In the nightstand.”

Lifting on tiptoe, she kissed him, slipping her tongue along the cushion of his mouth, catching his lower lip and gently nibbling the flesh. He swept his tongue beyond her lips, finding every nook of her mouth like he was Christopher Columbus on the ocean. His hands were on her back, his fingers crawling down her spine, then pausing at her waist. She was like the most expensive silk to his wool fabric.

His cock hardened, testing the durability of his zipper.

He wondered what she was wearing underneath the dress, but he would find out soon enough. He lifted his head. “We’re wearing too much clothing. I want you naked.” He grabbed his Stetson and flung it onto the chair. “How do you want me, darlin’? Want me to undress for you or do you want to undress me?”

She smiled. “I want to watch.”

A tingle spread down his spine and straight into his balls. He wasted no time. Reaching down, he grasped the hem of his shirt and dragged it over his head. He heard a seam burst but he didn’t care, even if it was his favorite tee. Tossing it over his head, he then unsnapped the buckle and belt at his waist, drawing the leather out of the loops with a loud zing.

“That sound. It drives me wild,” she whispered.

He chuckled. “You drive me wild.” He toed off his boots and rid his body of his jeans and boxers. “Now it’s your turn. I want to watch too.”

She brought her hands to the tiny straps at her shoulders and in one flick of her wrists she sent them off, the material floated down her body.

Weston stared at her breasts cupped in the strapless, lace bra and the tiny tiny polka dotted panties. Damn. She had him on fire and he wasn’t positive he would last long.

“Do you like pink polka dots?” she asked, modeling the tiny garment.

Reaching out, Weston traced one lace edge with his finger. “Love them, but I’ll like them better off you.”

He stared in excitement as she unhooked the bra and the material dropped to her feet. Her breasts were exposed to his heated gaze and he couldn’t think enough to swallow. “Yeah, I was right. Much better.” He stepped closer, cupping her breasts in his palms. “Perfect,” he growled, lowering his head, and suckling one rosy tip. He gave the same attention to the other breast and then stood back. “Beautiful.”

Her lips formed a teasing pout. “I’m glad you like.”

He brushed his fingers across her nipple, loving how it budded. “I could stare at you all day.”

Her chest rose and fell, mimicking the fast pace of his heart. They were in tune with one another—just like before.

“How about the panties?” He cocked a brow.

She tilted her head. “How about some help?”

He moaned and reached out to grab the delicate fabric, drawing them down her lush hips and thighs, and shaking legs. She gave them a toss with her big toe. “Fuck! That’s a nice pussy.”